Couple confesses to robbery

LAHORE - Crimes Investigation Agency (CIA) of the Lahore police on Saturday claimed to have arrested a couple who made off with cash and gold ornaments worth 2.5 million rupees from a house, where they had been working as house servants. CIA police chief, SP Muhammad Omar Virk told reporters while addressing a press conference at investigation headquarters on Saturday that the police have also recovered looted cash and valuables worth Rs2.3 million from their possession. The couple along with their accomplices had armed robbery at the residence of Muhammad Riaz, an engineer by profession. The couple identified as Hassan alias Shakoor and his wife Zareena Bibi had been working as driver and housemaid respectively at the victim’s residence. The couple along with their relatives had made the plan to commit an armed robbery at his house of their master. As per their plan, all of a sudden they took out guns and held up Riaz and his family members at gunpoint as the man came back home from workplace. The bandits collected cash, gold ornaments, and other valuables and also drove away two cars from the house. The local police registered the case but field to arrest the bandits. Muhammad Riaz later appeared before the Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Chaudhry Shafique Ahmed and brought the matter into his notice. The city police chief handed over the investigations of the case to the CIA police and directed the SP to nab the criminals. SP CIA Muhammad Omar Virk constituted a special police team which raided in different parts of the province and arrested four accused persons including Hassan alias Shakoor, his wife Zareena Bibi, brother-in-law Asif Qadoos and Muhammad Adil. The fifth member of this gang, Rashid Bibi, said to be sister-in-law of Hassan, is still at large and the police are conducting raids for her arrest. During preliminary investigations, Hassan confessed to the investigators that he and his wife after getting got job at the house of Muhammad Riaz as a driver and housemaid respectively collected all the information about of family and then committed armed robbery. Police said that the arrested bandits had a history of committing armed robberies in Lahore and Gujranwala districts. Further investigation was underway.